Her Own Life
by Adea
Summary: Sequel to "A New Life". Hermione goes to Hogwarts now, and has a hard time dealing with everything people expect her to be. Family : Snape/Hermione AU / SS adopted HG so obviously no romance !
1. Alone Again

Hello everyone one !

This is the sequel to my story "A New Life". So I suggest you read it before this one (though it might not be completely necessary to understand the story).

I hope you like this story, and I'm always interested in your opinions and advice !

**Chapter 1 : Alone Again**

She was walking through the corridors of Hogwarts. The school had been her home for years now, since she was the Headmaster's daughter. She was used to walking the corridors during the summer, when the school was empty of all students. But now, she _was_ a student. Yet again, she was in the corridors... alone. She wasn't completely rejected by her classmates, but she wasn't exactly accepted either. People whispered around her things she couldn't understand, but everybody knew of her de-ageing. The lab accident that had turned Hermione Granger into a toddler in the middle of the war against Voldemort was common knowledge now. In everyone's eyes, she was strange... Moreover, no one seemed to understand her thirst for knowledge. Another weirdness. Finally, she was the Headmaster's adoptive daughter. Some students almost feared her because of that.

She was used to being alone. She enjoyed it in a way, but she had never been that much alone before. Usually she had her father, the other teachers, the Weasleys to talked to. But now, as all other students, she spent her time in the common room (or library in her case). She couldn't interact with everyone as she used to, because they were her teachers, or didn't live nearby. And most of all, she couldn't hug her father before she went to bed... It seemed very childish, but as much as she tried to act as a grown-up, she was a child, and she was allowed this kind of behaviour. She missed her father very much. She hardly ever saw him anymore, without his Headmaster facade.

So, she spent all her time studying and practising spells. She was actually proud of her achievements, and she brought her house a large amount of points. She had been sorted into Gryffindor again... though she didn't remember the first time.

_**Flashback **_

_Hermione stood next to Snape on platform 9 and ¾. Even though she lived at Hogwarts, he had insisted that she took the train with her classmates. So, for the first time since his own childhood, he was there, by the Hogwarts Express, along with other parents and students eyeing him strangely and whispering. At the time, Hermione was actually enthusiastic about meeting other students._

_'It's time to go, Hermione. The train's about to leave.'_

_'OK ! I'll see you tonight anyway in the Great Hall ! I can't wait to be there. I've been waiting so long to watch the Sorting Ceremony !'_

_Snape chuckled at his daughter's enthusiasm._

_'You won't be simply watching though.'_

_'I know, I'm going to get sorted as well... I am a little nervous about that.' She finished her sentence quietly._

_'There is no need to be. You know I will be proud of you whatever house you are in.'_

_Hermione smiled meekly. 'I know, it's just... What if the hat doesn't sort me ? What if it doesn't work because I've already been sorted and I'm not supposed to be back at Hogwarts or something ?'_

_Snape sighed. He knew that something had bothered her in the last few days, and finally he knew what it was._

_'Hermione, I know for a fact that you belong at Hogwarts. The letters magical children receive are sent thanks to a very ancient spell. Only the children welcome at Hogwarts would get them. As for the Sorting Hat, it already told me that it couldn't wait to sort you. It probably already knows where to put you...'_

_That last comment caused Hermione's mouth to drop._

_'It told you about me ?'_

_Snape simply nodded reassuringly, just before the whistle announcing imminent departure blew._

_'Hurry on the train, and stop worrying.' Snape said before he hugged her and kissed her forehead quickly._

_She hopped on the train, and waved at him at the door, ignoring the strange looks she got from older students._

_The ride had been nice. She had chatted with some fellow first years, even though she hadn't really had time to bond properly. The Sorting came faster than she would have thought. When the hat was on her head, she felt like the rest of the hall was completely gone._

_'Granger... So we meet again... And I must say you haven't changed much. Although I think I notice the influence of your father in here now... But not enough to change your true nature...'_

_'GRYFFINDOR'_

_As she hopped off the stool, she met her father's gaze, and indeed, she saw he was proud, though not many others would have noticed. He probably would have liked to see her become a Slytherin, but he knew that she was a Gryffindor through and through, and he loved her._

_**End of flashback**_

That evening had been the only one during which Hermione had felt like she belonged with her house. She celebrated the start of the school year, enjoying the festive atmosphere. She hadn't been able to feel that way ever since, and it was October now. On top of everything, her Head of House had requested her presence in her office after classes that day, and given the tone she had used, it wasn't just for a cup of tea. Hermione wondered what she had done.

So, she was walking nervously towards said office. Once arrived, she knocked on the door timidly, and entered when she heard Minerva McGonagall tell her to.

'Good evening, Professor.'

'Sit, Miss Granger.' She said rather stiffly.

She did as she was told, and sat down on the nearest chair, trying not to show how nervous she was. She honestly couldn't recall having done anything wrong. Besides, she was quite sure that if she were ever to be involved into a disciplinary problem, her father would not delegate the task to anyone.

'Do you know why I summoned you to my office Hermione ?'

'No Professor.'

Hiding the nervousness in her voice was definitely becoming an issue.

'Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I was merely concerned by your behaviour these last few weeks.'

Hermione began to understand. Indeed, her behaviour wasn't normal. Within a few weeks, the slightly annoying know-it-all had somehow vanished. She wanted to try and fit in, so, slowly, her enthusiasm in class had faded, to the point where she practised her spells, brewed or took notes in silence, without asking questions or even trying to answer when teachers did. Admitting it out loud was out of the question however. So she kept her eyes low and didn't answer. The Transfiguration teacher sighed.

'Hermione... What happened dear ? You seemed so happy at the start of term. And barely a month later I hear all your teachers worrying about you.'

Hermione shrugged, barely looking up. She couldn't deny anything, but she couldn't find the words to explain her recent behaviour. McGonagall sighed again.

'Are you fazed by the fact that we all have to keep our distance from you now ?' she asked softly.

'I guess... a little.'

'I know that it must be harder for you than the other students. You see all of us every day, and yet we can't treat you like we used to.'

'No, I understand that. Besides, none of the other students get to see their families either !'

'But they're not being treated differently than they used to be by their families.' She answered with a piercing glance.

Hermione looked into her eyes for a few seconds, before slowly lowering her gaze again and sighing slightly.

'We never forbade you to come and talk to us if you needed to, you know.'

'But it wouldn't be fair ! The others don't get to see or talk to their families during school time. Even during week-ends !'

Minerva nodded. She began to understand a little better. It would probably feel strange to visit the staff as members of the family in the week-ends, and then to become a normal student again for a whole week. But she couldn't stand to see Hermione so lonely.

'But others write to their families and get letters. Perhaps you should write to Severus. Talk to him about your days, your classes... your friends...'

At these words, Hermione's gaze fell back towards the floor.

'The thing is... I... I don't really have friends here.'

Minerva frowned.

'Has anybody been mean to you ?'

'No !' Hermione answered quickly. 'Everybody's nice. They're just avoiding me. They whisper things around me. I think I heard someone saying I was weird.'

'It might take some time for the others to get used to you. You are indeed a bit strange for them. Your history is unprecedented. But your classmates will see how kind you are.' She said encouragingly.

'I just wish I was normal... I'm sick of being noticed like that. People recognise me, and whisper things, but they don't talk to me. It's always like that in Diagon Alley. Daddy tried to make me believe they were talking about him, but I know it's not completely true.'

Minerva nodded. She probably should have confronted Hermione sooner. It was ironic really. She wanted to be normal, while probably everyone else in the school wished to be special.

'So you decided to change in order not to draw attention to yourself ?'

Hermione shrugged. It wasn't really a conscious decision. It just happened that way.

'Hermione, you don't need to change to make friends. You have a lot of qualities your classmates are bound to notice sooner or later. I'm not saying you should show-off in class, but you can keep raising your hand once in a while. You are part of the class and we would like to hear you as much as the others. You can also offer help to your classmates for their homework. I'm sure some of them would be grateful. Believe me, they'll soon realise you are a child just like they are.'

Minerva was smiling now, and slowly, Hermione did as well. It wasn't a big smile, but it was a start It had felt good to talk to Minerva, and not to Professor McGonagall. Besides, she was right. She hadn't really been herself with the others. She was never a typical child, but she sued to be enthusiastic, no matter how strange it could seem.

'Besides, Gryffindor House needs all the points it can get for the House Cup.' She added with a wink. Hermione laughed slightly. 'Now get to the Great Hall, it is nearly dinner time.'

'Thank you Professor.'

The little girl left, leaving the older witch alone, hoping that the situation would get better.

The next morning, at breakfast, Minerva was happy. Incredibly happy in fact. She observed the Great Hall form the Head Table, and was relieved to see Hermione looking rather happier than the previous mornings. She was even surprised to see a few fellow Gryffindors greet her (which hadn't happened many times before). But what made Minerva really happy, was the owl that swoop into the Hall along with the other birds at mail time, and landed right next to Severus's plate. From the look on the Headmaster's face as he read the letter, it was clearly coming from Hermione. Later that day, she was even happier to see Hermione's hand fly upwards for questions the rest of the class didn't seem to know the answers for.

Hermione seemed much better already, and she had been able to award 45 points to her own house in a single class. Things really couldn't get better !

**A.N. : I hope you like it :) We're going to explore Hermione's time at Hogwarts, and possibly after that. And don't really know at which rate yet though…**

**Reviews are always appreciated !**


	2. Letters

Hello ! Here's a small second chapter.

Some of you seemed worried about the true plot of the story. Don't worry, things are going to get a little more interesting. With Hermione's social life (and then love life), Severus's love life as well, bad publicity they might get, there will be things to take care of in the future :p You'll see the details in the next chapters I guess !

I hope you'll enjoy this in the mean time.

**Chapter 2 : Letters**

Snape was surprised to see an owl come straight to him at breakfast time. He usually got his official mail before that in his office, and he couldn't think of anyone writing informal letters to him. He was intrigued to see his daughter's tiny handwriting as he unfolded the paper and shooed the school owl away.

_Dear Daddy,_

_I'm writing to tell you how things are at school. It sounds kind of silly of course, because you are at Hogwarts yourself, but I don't really get to talk to you as much as I used to so it might be nice !_

'Nice surprise indeed !' He thought earnestly, though he kept his face neutral since all the students were there. He was amused though, that even in letters she still babbled as she used to.

_Classes are fine. And I can finally do magic ! Not in the corridors of course. I really like Transfiguration, and Charms are quite nice as well. Defence against the Darks Arts is interesting, and I do well in Potions as well, though I think Professor Slughorn might be giving me better marks than I deserve... I don't really like being in the greenhouses, but I still do fine in Herbology. Astronomy is a little hard, since it's at night, and it's hard to focus on bright stars when I'm tired. Muggle Studies is a very interesting class as well, except it's strange being a muggle-born and still not know much about muggles. But Professor Moonflower is very nice. History of Magic is slightly boring, but I guess it's OK._

He didn't discover much in that paragraph. He followed his daughter's progress carefully already. He knew that she was the top of her class in every subject. The only surprise was that she actually considered Professor Binn's lecture _slightly_ boring. During his time as a student, these classes made him wonder if it would be possible to die of boredom...

_I'm dreading the flying lessons that'll start next week though. I haven't found a single book that explains 'how' to properly ride a broom. Do they expect it to come naturally or what ? And most of the class is actually excited about that ! But how can anyone be excited about having just a piece of wood protecting from falling down ? I know it's a magical piece of wood but still, 'Quidditch through the ages' tells many stories about simple flying accidents ! Hasn't anybody read that ??'_

'Probably not...' he thought as he chuckled. He hadn't ever given her free access to the library before, so she must have taken the occasion to check out as many books as she could since the start of term.

He knew she was afraid of flying, but it might do her well to be confronted to something she couldn't learn from books. She had to face her fears sooner or later. And even though she would probably never become a Quidditch player, he hoped that she would enjoy the sensation of flying once she got used to it, and once she trusted herself not to slide off the end of her broomstick.

_Anyway, I hope you are well. I miss you a lot, and I can't wait to see you during Christmas holidays._

_Love,_

_Hermione. _

This letter was really refreshing. He had missed her a lot as well, but as Headmaster, he had to treat her like he would any other student. He hadn't thought about writing to her though. He should have. All parents send letters to their children, when they're away at a boarding school. Well... Hermione wasn't exactly "away" but she wasn't "here" either.

So, as soon as he came back to his office, he got to his desk, took his favourite and corrected his mistake.

_Dear Hermione, _

_I am sorry I hadn't thought of writing to you before. I am glad that you enjoy most of your classes. I would have expected nothing less from you. I am very proud of your achievements so far, and I trust you to keep doing your best._

_Stop worrying yourself about your flying lessons. I am sure you will do fine, even though it cannot be learnt from books. The truth is flying cannot be explained properly with words. Only trial and error can guide you there. You will understand soon enough how to manipulate your broomstick. And be sure that Madam Hooch's first priority is to keep all the students safe. So please stop troubling yourself this way, you will soon understand how enjoyable it can be to be flying._

_I trust that you are enjoying yourself in Gryffindor tower, and that you get along well with your housemates. I hope you will not let either of them get you in trouble. You know how many Gryffindors tend to get in trouble._

_I miss you too, and I am looking forward to reading your next letter. I love you._

_Your father._

_P.S. : Please hide this letter and the ones that will follow from your classmates in order to protect my reputation._

The next day, he watched with hidden delight Hermione's face as she read the letter. She was smiling all along, until she reached the end, and let out a small laugh. She had already taken the precaution of shielding herself from her table neighbours, thankfully. The look on her face made him feel better than he had weeks (since the day she got on the train actually).

And so their almost daily correspondence began.

**A.N. : Here ! I hope you liked it, and I always like reviews :p**


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